O God, our Divine Parent, may your presence be ever revered. May your peace and justice dwell among us. May your love and compassion live within and between us. Nourish us daily with the necessities of life; sustenance for our bodies, and inspiration for our spirits.

O God of sky and God of Earth, We honor your presence Within us and beyond.

God of sky and God of Earth Your bright presence we explore Deep within us and beyond All our reason’s structured lore.

When Jesus prayed, he found a sense of sacred oneness, when Buddha meditated, he became awake to deeper levels of awareness. No one truly knows the effectiveness of prayer, but one thing is for sure- when we take the time to be still, to slow down, to go inward, we almost always discover something about ourselves and the potential awareness that we are not alone.

I think we need some method of communicating with God and prayer is the logical answer. But prayer in which we stop everything we are doing, get down on our knees, fold our hands and pray is not my idea of prayer. I think we should try to communicate with God any time we have a second to think about God or ask God to be with a loved one or friend, or share anything in our life with God. While driving, when watching TV, while on the lake alone, working in the garden, any of those times and many more, we should take a moment to commune (talk, whatever word you want to use) with God. It may be that those moments are more for us than for God, but I like to think that God listens and cares. I admit that I get awfully frustrated when I feel God is not listening because my petitions are not immediately answered in the way that I have requested. I know God’s answer may be “no,” but that is difficult to swallow.

We are here to praise and enjoy God with body and soul, mind and heart, with song and word, with hands and feet. We are here to give because of the abundance God has given us, to share with each other, and to receive, because God has created us to depend on each other. We are here to celebrate the differences that otherwise might divide us: differences of age, of body, of culture, of opinion, of ability, of religious conviction. We are here to put things in perspective: to celebrate what matters, to laugh about things we take too seriously, to cry about things that truly touch our hearts. So may it be this morning: Amen!

Our Goodness, which is in compassion, We revere your vision. May we support your ways In common deeds As we do in our highest ideals.

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, Loving God, in whom is heaven:

Our Father who dwells within – All in all, In you I live and move and have my being.

L: Our Father R: Sounds a bit sexiest to me, what about our Mother?

Dear One, closer to us than our own hearts, farther from us than the most distant star, you are beyond naming.

Despite its familiarity and almost constant liturgical use, the Lord’s Prayer has become difficult for even some devout Christians to pray in our

Soulful music that combines elements of folk, blues, jazz, and gospel. Lyrics are spiritual yet progressive, philosophical yet earthy, and realistic yet hopeful.

Dear One, closer to us than our own hearts, farther from us than the most distant star, you are beyond naming.

Great divine spirit of love that is at the core of everything and from which all life flows, We acknowledge your healing and transforming power.

Breath, love, hope, inspiration -- truth that sings forth from within even as I am enveloped with its challenge,

O Divine Power of Creation Hallowed be thy name The mystery of thy grace be with us

Good caring presence within us, around us, and above us; Hold us in a sense of mystery and wonder.

A contemporary version of the Lord's Prayer adapted from the prayer book of the Anglican Church of New Zealand.